


Please Say 'I Do'

by writingwithmolls



Series: Into the Rose Garden [4]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Byleth is still teaching away, Domestic, Edelgard is emperor, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Marriage Proposal, Multi, Polyamory, Post-Time Skip, and Dorothea is performing in the opera, essentially a power relationship, just so domestic, okay they're all just gay for each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-20 09:30:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20225626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingwithmolls/pseuds/writingwithmolls
Summary: Dorothea loves her girlfriends dearly, but she has a question to ask of them before they all have to separate for a couple of months.





	Please Say 'I Do'

“Dorothea,” she awoke to her girlfriend whispering into her ear, “it’s time to get up, sweetheart.”

“I’m asleep.” Dorothea muttered, burying her face into the crook of Byleth’s neck. She kissed her gently as Byleth chuckled at her reaction. She wished this day wouldn’t come, their time together always seemed painfully short. Dorothea knew that she should be grateful for having time at all, but it always seemed unfair the day that they had to leave.

“El is probably waiting for you to do her hair.” Byleth held her girlfriend tight, placing a kiss on top of her head. “She got up early.”

“That’s our Edie.” Dorothea stretched, sitting up and kissing Byleth’s lips. “Good morning.”

“Good morning.” She said back, twisting to stretch out her own back. Dorothea would never tire of waking up next to her. She suspected that Byleth had woken up at the same time as Edelgard, but chose to wait for her. She was happy.

Dorothea practically rolled onto the floor (if she didn’t get up with enough momentum, she never would) while Byleth tiptoed out. She touched her toes, stretching her legs, before standing up straight. She never knew why her girlfriend went through the same routine every morning, but it was cute.

“We don’t have to get ready.” Dorothea insisted, placing another kiss on Byleth’s neck. Only pecks, because she knew her girlfriend wouldn’t be happy having to teach with markings on her neck. “Let’s go back to bed.”

“Then we would never leave.”

“Is that a problem?” 

“Unfortunately, yes.” Byleth took her hand, leading her to the washroom door and knocking. “Can we join you?”

“Yes.” Edelgard’s voice was muffled by the wood door. When it opened, she was standing in front of the mirror, attempting to wrangle the knots out of her white hair. “Good morning.”

“Good morning.” Dorothea smiled. She let go of Byleth’s hand, standing behind the woman in the mirror. “Is it okay to touch?” Even though there had been less and less days that she didn’t want to be touched the further they got away from the war, both her girlfriends always made sure.

Edelgard nodded and Dorothea wrapped arms around her waist and leaned down to rest her chin on her shoulder. They swayed in the mirror as Byleth tied her hair up to wash her face. Dorothea kissed her girlfriend’s cheek, letting go and running her fingers through the long hair. They got stuck halfway down from the knots.

“Can I do your hair?” Dorothea asked.

Edelgard nodded, handing her the brush and sitting down on the stool that they kept handy just for this reason. “What am I going to do without you for two months?”

“You could always stay.” Dorothea said as she began to work her way from the bottom of Edelgard’s long hair. She leaned in. “How about we all just retire? Move to the countryside.”

Her comment earned a half laugh from Edelgard. “We can’t retire, Dorothea. We’re not even in our thirties.” She frowned, looking to Byleth. “I think…?”

Byleth shrugged, water dripping down her face as she looked for a towel. Edelgard leaned over to the counter in front of her and handed it over.

“Thank you, El.” Byleth took it, patting her face dry.

“So you’re going to Garreg Mach first, right?” Dorothea asked as she worked the knots out. Dorothea had been dreading this morning. Byleth had to return for teaching--after the Officer’s Academy was re-established she had resumed her role as a professor. The school year tended to be long, but Dorothea made somewhat frequent trips to visit that made everything much more bearable. What she wasn’t used to was her other girlfriend leaving her the same day. It was going to be a lonely two months.

“That’s the plan.” Edelgard said. “And then negotiations and balls and appearances for me.”

“So many people looking up to my darling Edie.” Dorothea cooed, satisfied as her comb went smoothly through the length of hair. “We’re lucky to even live together. If that means periods that you leave and work, it’s a small price to pray.”

“I know.” Edelgard said, her voice edging into a whine as she pressed her head back into Dorothea. “I honestly don’t remember how to properly do my hair.”

“Then watch carefully this time instead of chatting with Byleth.” Dorothea faked her scolding, beginning to twist the long locks. It was a shame that Edelgard mostly wore her hair up for appearance--it was so beautiful and long. In a way though, it made Dorothea feel special to see it down.

As she worked on the hair, her girlfriend’s ignored her warning and were chatting about the show the night before. Dorothea’s opening show had been earlier in the week, which constituted most of the reason why she couldn’t just spend two months traveling with either of them. She couldn’t abandon her role at the opera. Both Edelgard and Byleth had come to the show each day it was open, even with her protests. She knew it had to get boring sitting in the opera house every night, but she was grateful for the support.

Along with the show’s opening came a paycheck. Dorothea had bought gifts for Edelgard and Byleth the first night, but each time she thought about giving them, she felt unbelievably nervous. She even wore her own gift (it had came in a set of three) on stage one of the nights, but neither of the women gave notice.

Dorothea pinned the final piece of hair in place and with thanks they stepped back into the bedroom. It was a tornado of clothes and last minute packing, but soon her partners were ready to leave: Edelgard in her dress and Byleth in her cloak. Dorothea almost let them leave without giving them the gifts, it could wait two months, couldn’t it?

“Before you leave.” Dorothea said, her voice a bit more panicked than she initially planned. “I--uh have something for you. Both of you.”

“Of course,” Byleth said, “don’t be nervous.”

“You know me so well.” Dorothea said, but she was grateful for Byleth’s reminder. She got up from the table, crossing the room. Digging through her drawer she produced two small boxes. She cradled them in her hands when she returned to the table. Both of her girlfriends were looking at her. “I love both of you.”

“I love you.”

“And I love you.” Edelgard followed with a small laugh.

“You already know this, but,” this was hard, no amount of writing down what she wanted to say was helping her, “I’ve always been scared. I worked so hard to get off the streets and I never wanted to go back. I know that one day I’m not going to be desirable; I’m not going to have a beautiful voice; there’s not going to be anything deeming me worthy.”

Both Edelgard and Byleth looked to argue, but Dorothea held up a hand to continue. “I see now that none of that is true. I was looking for approval in the wrong places. I didn’t have enough faith in myself. Edie, you taught me that I  _ meant _ something to people. I truly thought that my fondness for you was one-sided. Even as a student you were so  _ regal _ and I… wasn’t. It made me so happy when you said that a life with me would be exciting, even if you were just fooling around.

“And Byleth,” she leaned towards her other girlfriend, “I never had confidence in myself. You taught me it was okay to rely on my own powers. At the same time, you made sure that I didn’t  _ have _ to be alone. I never properly thanked you for your patience. As a teacher, as a friend, and as a lover.”

“Dorothea…” Byleth trailed off. Her cheeks with burning with a blush and Dorothea was proud.

“I know that not a lot of people understand our relationship.” Dorothea continued placing the boxes on the table in front of her. She didn’t look at her girlfriends, starting to get nervous. “It might not even be possible with the Empire and such, but then again I don’t think love needs labels.” She slid a box to each of them. She folded her hands, staring at them. She wasn’t surprised to find them shaking. “I love both of you. If it is what you would like, I want to spend the rest of my life together. Just the three of us.”

Byleth was the first to open her box. Dorothea watched tensely as the lid came off and her girlfriend saw the contents inside. She let out a small gasp, taking the ring out gently. Byleth looked up to Dorothea, a wide smile lighting up her face. “It’s so beautiful.”

Edelgard was a different story. She had her head down, staring intensely at the contents of the box. Dorothea could see the tears that were streaming down her face as she tried to wipe them away without detection.

“Edie…” Dorothea got up, wrapping her crying girlfriend into a hug.

“Thank you.” Edelgard gasped. “I love you. I never thought that I would have someone who would love me this much--much less two.”

Edelgard pulled her into her lap. Dorothea smiled at her, feeling her own eyes getting misty as she wiped away her partner’s tears. She could hear Byleth’s light laugh and a hand on her shoulder.

“I’m going to miss you immensely, Edie.” Dorothea promised. “We’re not going anywhere. Before you know it we’ll all be back in bed.”

“Where you two like it most.” Byleth teased, kissing both of their cheeks. Dorothea hugged Edelgard as tight as she could, worried that the Emperor would be seen crying as she left.

“I meant cuddling, but that, too.” Dorthea kissed Edelgard. “I’m glad that you like it.”

“Where’s my kiss?” Byleth pouted, before receiving one as well. “The ring is lovely, Dorothea. Though it doesn’t feel right to not have one for you.”

She shook her head. “You do know you’re talking to me? I got a matching one, don’t you worry.”

“It helps,” Edelgard said, finally wiping away all of her tears, “to know that no matter how far apart we are, we all have the same ring.”

With a flutter of kisses and embraces, Dorothea watched as her two girlfriends departed. It was sad, sure, but she looked down at her ring finger. The three gems sparkled in the light of the rising sun and knew that it wasn’t a final farewell. Edelgard and Dorothea would come back; she had nothing to fear.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoy my work and would like to support me (for absolutely free!), please consider following my writing Instagram: @mollymariewrites I'm a queer woman who not only writes fanfiction... but also short stories, poetry and novels so it would mean a lot to me to support my future projects<3


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